'TMNT' Review

Four mysterious martial artists and a young reporter must save New York from a biological attack by a Japanese terrorist organization. The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tries to reinvent the mythology of our sewer-dwelling pizza-eating heroes with mixed results. On the upside, the film features a couple of strong visually exciting action set pieces that take advantage of the 3D medium and the big budget computer effects. On the downside, the filmmakers over-complicate the plot by trying to re-engineer the origin of the turtles and their relationship to reporter April O’Neil. Instead of wasting so much time setting up exposition that never pays off on an emotional level, I wish we could have just spent more time with the Turtles, but the filmmakers make Megan Fox the main character, pushing the guys into more of a supporting role. While it’s not the worst movie in Ninja Turtle history, it doesn’t do much to rise above the dozens of other incarnations that have come before it. If I had it to do over again, I would have rather just watched the original 1990 live-action movie.